South Africa says HIV response won’t falter despite US funding cuts

Pretoria has developed contingency plans to sustain vital services, its health minister has said

By RT Interntional

South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the country’s world-leading HIV/Aids program “will not collapse” following the withdrawal of funding from the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) earlier this year.

This as the National Treasury injected R753 million into the programme with global partners pledging a further R600 million to support treatment and research.

Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump’s administration announced it would halt all Pepfar funding, following previous global health aid cuts under the same administration. The decision by USAID to withdraw support has left a significant funding gap, particularly for countries like South Africa, where approximately 17% of the HIV/AIDS response was funded by Pepfar.

Presenting the Department of Health’s 2025/26 budget in Parliament on Wednesday, Motsoaledi outlined the National Department of Health’s three key priorities: strengthening the public health system in preparation for National Health Insurance (NHI), eliminating key diseases such as HIV/AIDS and TB, and implementing long-overdue reforms in the private health sector.

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Read Full Article Here…(rt.com)

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